REPUBLICANS YESTERDAY urged President Barack Obama to pick a more business-friendly successor to economic adviser Larry Summers, a move that would signal a shift to the centre.
But a decision on Mr Summer’s replacement is months away, a White House official said.
A day after Mr Summers announced plans to step down as director of the National Economic Council, speculation about his replacement focused on female candidates, many of whom would bring business expertise that some say is lacking in the Obama White House. “We’d like to see someone who had good understanding of what it takes to create private-sector jobs,” Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said in an interview at the Reuters Washington Summit.
“One of the real problems with this administration – it seems like they don’t know how. And they don’t have very many people who’ve ever tried.” Names such as that of former Xerox Corp chief executive Anne Mulcahy, former Clinton administration economist Laura Tyson and NEC deputy director Diana Farrell surfaced as possible replacements.
“A decision is months away,” said one White House official, adding “there are a number of names under consideration” and the list will probably continue to grow.
First and foremost, Mr Obama wants “someone who can lead a team and run a process”, the official said.
Mr Summers, a former treasury secretary, had planned to stay at the White House for only a short period and is leaving to return to his teaching job at Harvard University. The NEC director, a role created in the Clinton administration, takes the lead in co-ordinating economic policy advice to the president and runs the near-daily meetings Mr Obama holds on the economy with his top staff.
The departure of Mr Summers at the end of this year will come weeks after the November 2nd congressional elections where the Democrats fear crushing losses amid voter frustration with the sluggish economy and 9.6 per cent unemployment.
Mr Obama could be forced to work with opposition Republicans and may emphasise a more centrist message on the economy, including calls for deficit reduction, as he lays the ground work for his re-election bid in 2012.
Although White House officials said Mr Obama would miss Mr Summers’ depth of experience and economic knowledge, the decision on his replacement could give Mr Obama a chance to signal a fresh start on economic policy.
The resignation follows the departures of White House budget director Peter Orszag and Christina Romer, who was chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Also key to the direction of economic policy is the chief of staff, and Mr Obama may have to find a replacement for that role too.
Rahm Emanuel is considering stepping down to run for mayor of Chicago.
Whoever replaces him could have a great deal of sway in the decision about who will succeed Mr Summers.
Mr Obama faces a choice of going toe-to-toe with Republicans and facing policy gridlock or signalling a move to the centre, said William Galston, a former policy adviser to president Bill Clinton.
“In recent days there have been indications that the White House is contemplating the beginnings of the second option, with a new economic approach focused on reducing the long-term budget deficit and getting private capital off the sidelines,” Mr Galston wrote in an opinion piece in the Financial Times. “If so, the president needs a senior economic advisor who can help him execute this strategy.”
Such a candidate would have a reputation for advocating fiscal restraint and have strong ties to the business community, he said.